Looking for a last minute culinary adventure tonight? Head over to the American Museum of Natural History at 6:30 p.m. for an event titled: Historic Remedies For Your Expanding Waistline. For 30 bucks you'll learn straight from historic gastronomist Sarah Lohman (author of the blog Four Pounds Flour) about how Americans traditionally tried to shed a unwanted weight—"from William Banting’s “Letter on Corpulence” to “Fletcherizing” with John Harvey Kellogg, explore and taste some of the best (and worst) historic diet trends in America." more ›

Are you bored with your job, but enthralled by the mysteries of nature? Wish your days were filled with a few more dinosaur bones and giant squids? Well, step right up, because the Museum of Natural History has a golden opportunity for you! more ›

We already know that kids are serious about their dinosaurs—our favorite MoMA critic reminded us of that fact last year. So it doesn't come as that big a surprise kids would know more about Triceratops' and Styracosaurus' than toy makers would—but who knew they could give such brutal critiques! The little girl in the video below finds multiple mistakes with a 3D dinosaur toy, and tears apart the product with the ferocity of an adorable mini-Robert Christgau. "But they got the beak right," she mercifully decrees about the pitiful toy. more ›

Calling all adult contemporary fans: Coldplay will be performing at the American Museum of Natural History's annual Museum Gala on November 10th, and if you have $1,500 to $100,000 you can attend. The museum says "more than 600 guests are expected to attend this year’s dazzling ball," which is the highlight of their fall season. more ›

Well, that's a mouthful: meet Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis, a vegetarian with a 30-foot neck who recently arrived at the Museum of Natural History for their World’s Largest Dinosaurs exhibition (check out our pictures here). She's a real chatty Cathy, tweeting up a storm under the name Giant_Dino, but her full name is too long to tweet, so the Museum's looking for some help giving her a nickname. more ›

A hero dog named Rufus—who saved 50 GIs from a suicide bomber in Afghanistan—was honored right here in New York last night. Five hundred guests were on hand at the Animal Medical Center charity event at the American Museum of Natural History, according to the NY Post, and Rufus was toasted by them all. The Centennial Top Dog Gala honors service dogs that go beyond the call of duty. For Rufus, he attacked a Taliban suicide bomber, causing him to detonate a bomb early. He now lives with his handler Sgt. Chris Duke in Atlanta and hopefully he's microchipped. more ›

We're going to give Jim the benefit of the doubt and assume he's not using an innocent thing like cooking pancakes for his 3-year-old daughter to, say, gain some internet fame. The two were recently in New York City (presumably shooting a segment on the Rachel Ray Show) and dropped by the American Museum of Natural History, where a new muse was found for the next round of batter: dinosaurs! Want to try it at home? Jim suggests making "all the shapes first then put them together with pancake batter." [via Jezebel] more ›

The owner of a prototype BMW that was left parked and running under a tarp on Central Park West and triggered a bomb scare yesterday was issued a summons for idling his vehicle. Martin Birkmann, a BMW brand manager, had mistakenly left the oddly designed X3 prototype running while he and his girlfriend had a picnic in the park. The car apparently runs so silently that he didn't even notice. more ›

A black SUV "with a white circle on it" and New Jersey plates triggered closed roads from 77th to 81st Streets and response from bomb technicians earlier this afternoon. The SUV was parked on 77th Street and Central Park West, dangerously close to the American Museum of Natural History. As of 1 p.m. the police had located the owner and was conducting an interview, and at 1:50 p.m. the roads were reopened. Bomb technicians have yet to determine whether the car contained anything dangerous. UPDATE: Westside Independent is reporting the SUV was a prototype BMW with no registration and special markings on it. It was also allegedly parked with its engine running in front of a fire hydrant, and was covered with a tarp. more ›

The American Museum of Natural History is suing American Airlines over a delivery of African fish samples which were to be studied in the hall of artifacts. Part of the "Congo Project," the museum had sponsored students from the University of Kinsasha to collect rare fish samples from the river. However, when the barrels arrived in Brussels last October, officials found they were leaky and full of maggots, and had them destroyed. The museum is seeking $25,000 in damages for the missing fish and "loss of research." They are also investigating infestation claims because the "fish specimens had been preserved in a solution of formalin and then double-bagged, creating an environment in which no maggot or pest could survive." more ›

Yesterday morning the American Museum of Natural History unveiled an eight-foot-tall pink paper elephant, which briefly stood tall next to the Origami Holiday Tree! They tell use the giant pink paper pachyderm was created through "the paper-folding wizardry of celebrated origami artist Sok Song." The tree marks the start of the holiday season at the museum, and has been back year after year for over three decades. This year’s theme of Origami, A to Z, has the 13-footer covered with paper letters and alphabetically-corresponding objects from an A and an Apatosaurus to a Z and a zebra. Check it out before they take it down on January 3rd... but sadly, the elephant has left the building. more ›

Do you wanna get your Ph.D. in pterodactyls? Good news: the American Museum of Natural History's graduate school was awarded full accreditation recently — making it the first US museum to grant doctorate degrees. more ›

For twelve years now the American Museum of Natural History has brought butterflies to Manhattan from all over the world. Last weekend their "Butterfly Conservatory: Tropical Butterflies Alive in Winter" exhibit opened (it will run through May 31st of next year), and we sent Katie Sokoler over to photograph the 500 vibrant creatures (monarchs, zebra longwings, and paper kites amongst them). What to expect: a 1,200-square-foot vivarium, a freestanding structure aflutter with activity, lamps simulating sunlight in the rain forest, recorded sounds of howler monkeys, parakeets and other animals. Get more details here. more ›

This rare piece of textile on display (starting today) at the American Museum of Natural History was made by one million wild Golden Orb spiders from Madagascar (they can grow up to the size of a human hand)! At least, they produced the silk for it. Nothing quite like spider silk to keep you warm in the winter—Snuggie should get on that. more ›

The Museum of Natural History tried something new this year: an ice skating rink. Opening in November, their Polar Rink is made up of "scientifically engineered" artificial ice which isn't getting very good reviews. One reader tips us off to the dull blades and sub-par synthetic skating surface, declaring ever so bluntly: "the Polar Rink SUCKS BALLS...goddamn it's a piece of crap. The super-dull rental skates don't help (and btw - THERE ARE NO LOCKERS, so you either take your chances with your bag stowed under a bench, or skate with your shit with you.) SUCKS. FAIL. DO NOT WANT." The folks over at Yelp seem to agree, the rink got 7 (of 7) one-star reviews over there (the lowest possible rating), with most complaining focused on the plastic-like surface that makes it impossible to do much more than shuffle around for a few defeating moments. more ›

Seems like just yesterday the Mythic Creatures themed tree was unveiled, but earlier today the Museum of Natural History presented their 30th annual origami holiday tree. Up through January 1st, this 13-footer is adorned with all sorts of creatures, including dinosaurs of course! more ›

The Museum of Natural History opened their first ice skating rink yesterday in their 149-year history. To help celebrate, children from the St. Joseph’s School came by to help christen the artificial ice with their blades, and later President Ellen Futter threw the switch to light the place up, "transforming it into a magical winter playground surrounded by trees covered in twinkling lights...with magnificent views of the Rose Center." Also, check out that 17-foot-tall polar bear! more ›

Clearly jealous of all the media attention bestowed upon the forthcoming ice rink at the Natural History Museum, the South Street Seaport has announced today that they're going to have an awesome ice rink too, you know. The Seaport Ice rink will be opening on November 28th (running through February 28th). 8,000 square-feet of ice will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, with admission rates at $5 and rentals at $7. So for $12 you can skate in circles while overlooking the East River, which used to have free ice skating once upon a time. more ›

Exciting news coming out of the Upper West Side: the Museum of Natural History will soon unveil an ice skating rink of its own, The NY Post reports. The 12,000-sq-ft rink has more to do with the future than history, as its made from "an artificial surface that doesn't melt or require refrigeration or maintenance," and it's been "scientifically engineered to allow skate blades to glide as smoothly as they do on real ice." Though the museum has been hush hush on the project, the paper noted that it will be located on the Arthur Ross Terrace, and only open during traditional skating season. Unsurprisingly, community board members are in full support of the newest addition to the area, and didn't foresee any problems "with sound or lights at night." Maybe they'll even include some ice sculptures of dinosaurs? Until then, here are some of the other rinks around town have already opened for the season. more ›

Opening this Saturday and running through next August at the American Museum of Natural History, it's: Climate Change, The Threat to Life and A New Energy Future! Uplifting, no? The exhibit "will examine one of the most pressing scientific issues of our time—the massive, human-induced warming of Earth, a phenomenon that could lead to drought, rising sea levels, heavy storms, and other events with potentially dire impacts on the health of society and the natural world." more ›

The American Museum of Natural History has culled together their collection of historical photos online in an overwhelming library that documents their exhibits, dinosaur displays and dioramas from construction to completion. This is all part of their online exhibit, titled Picturing the Museum: Education and Exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History. They note that the "exhibitions within the Museum building grew from the simple rows of specimen cabinets to more sophisticated representations of the natural world, both living and extinct." [Pruned via Kottke] more ›

This morning the American Museum of Natural History hosted a Tap Water Taste-off on their steps. New York City was one of five area communities competing for the title of tastiest tap water in the state during the event. Who came out on top at the 2008 regional taste-off contest? Sadly, we were robbed, with Bethpage in Nassau County grabbing the blue ribbon. The good news is NYC came in 2nd! With that kind of placement, the city will represent during the big event at the New York State Fair on August 26th. more ›